Nikko Park Lodge

In just two days Dan and I will start our WWOOFing adventure in Japan. If you haven't heard of it, WWOOF is short for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. You sign up on the website, pay a membership fee, and then you are free to WWOOF! The site has a large list of places that are currently accepting WWOOFers, that you simply send a message to telling them a little information about yourself and when you would like to come stay. Our first choice was a place called Nikko Park Lodge. We will be departing for it on Saturday.

When we CouchSurfed our way across the US last year, we stayed with an awesome couple in Lincoln Nebraska that told us about WWOOFing and the great experience they had at none other than Nikko Park Lodge. Although we didn't set out looking for the exact place they told us about, we quickly figured out that our number one choice was indeed the same place they had WWOOFed. We sent them an message letting them know that we were going to WWOOF there and they happily sent a e-mail to the owner of the lodge recommending us. The chef at the lodge is a vegan Buddhist monk who also teaches a morning zen yoga class everyday.

Aside from the chance to learn recipes from a vegan chef, we are also excited to go to Nikko for many other reasons. We have been in Tokyo for about 2 months now, and while the city is one of the greenest I've been to, the closest we have gotten to nature is Yoyogi Park. Not to say that Yoyogi isn't incredibly beautiful.. we are just very excited to experience living in a city where we have a view of the sky and mountains unobstructed by sky scrapers. Nikko is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it's many important shrines and temples. We have also heard that Nikko is a great place to be in fall in order view the beautiful foliage.